Analysis of The Last Eve Of Summer
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
Summer's last sun nigh unto setting shines
Through yon columnar pines,
And on the deepening shadows of the lawn
Its golden lines are drawn.
Dreaming of long gone summer days like this,
Feeling the wind's soft kiss,
Grateful and glad that failing ear and sight
Have still their old delight,
I sit alone, and watch the warm, sweet day
Lapse tenderly away;
And, wistful, with a feeling of forecast,
I ask, 'Is this the last?
'Will nevermore for me the seasons run
Their round, and will the sun
Of ardent summers yet to come forget
For me to rise and set?'
Thou shouldst be here, or I should be with thee
Wherever thou mayst be,
Lips mute, hands clasped, in silences of speech
Each answering unto each.
For this still hour, this sense of mystery far
Beyond the evening star,
No words outworn suffice on lip or scroll:
The soul would fain with soul
Wait, while these few swift-passing days fulfil
The wise-disposing Will,
And, in the evening as at morning, trust
The All-Merciful and Just.
The solemn joy that soul-communion feels
Immortal life reveals;
And human love, its prophecy and sign,
Interprets love divine.
Come then, in thought, if that alone may be,
O friend! and bring with thee
Thy calm assurance of transcendent Spheres
And the Eternal Years!
Scheme | AABB CCDD EEFF GGHH IIJJ KKLL LXMM NNOO IIPP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1011110101 1111 0101001101 110111 1011110111 100111 1001110101 111101 1101010111 110001 010101011 111101 110110101 110101 1101011101 111101 1111111111 010111 1111010011 1100101 111101111001 010101 111011111 011111 111111011 010101 0001011101 0110001 0101110101 010101 0101110001 010101 1101110111 110111 1101010101 000101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,225 |
Words | 223 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 110 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:07 min read
- 124 Views
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